Lots of people were taken by surprise when BMW started talking about creating hybrids or fully electric cars in the early 2000s but the truth of the matter is, they’ve been experimenting in this field for a long time. As a matter of fact, their first electric vehicle dates back to 1972.
Back then the Bavarian engineers were experimenting with all sorts of things, including battery powered vehicles. Of course, technology limited them a lot as they didn’t have the lithium-ion cells that are common today or the lightweight technology used in the i cars.
However, they prepared for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich with an incredibly special car: the 1602e. As the name suggests, it was based on a 1,600 model that was originally introduced in 1964 and was using a 1.6-liter engine. It was an economical car that boosted the sales of BMW.
The 1602 version was an even cheaper offering, with a smaller body and only two doors (that’s what the 02 stands for). In light of the oil crisis and studies that showed the pollution levels were going up in the 1970s, the company started looking for alternatives to conventional fuel so they came up with this invention.
The 1602e version had a 350 Kg (771.6 lbs) 12 V lead-acid battery ‘under the bonnet’ and a claimed autonomy of approximately 60 km (37 miles) which was less than ideal for a series production. Even so, to show the world the achievements they managed, BMW used this EV as a camera car at the Olympics and also as a means of transportation for the Olympic organizing committee.
Fortunately, they didn’t give up on their dream of creating an efficient, emissions free car that is not dependable on fossil fuels. That’s how we ended up with the i3 and we’ll be seeing even more offerings from the i sub-brand in the near future.
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